Post by luke on Dec 8, 2010 21:04:37 GMT -6
LUKEJACOBREED
“Why did you decide to go into teaching?”
Well, in college, as I'm sure it says on my resume, I majored in physics -- specifically, astronomy. My freshman year of college, I took an introductory astronomy class, and was enraptured by how fun the teacher made the class. All my other classes were fairly monotonous -- physics classes, no matter how captivating the subject manner, ususally are -- but this one really came to life, and it was all thanks to the teacher. That was one of my favorite classes ever. It was everyone's, actually. I decided that I wanted to do that. I wanted to cheer up students' days with a class that could actually be fun. And I've always loved to help people. Teaching just seemed like the job for me. I was planning on teaching at a college, but plans always seem to change.
“What can you offer the school?”
I attended Berkeley as an undergrad and Duke for grad school. My teachers were all very taken with me, as were the students in the handful of courses that I taught or TA'd. I have a PhD in Physics. While this is my first paying teaching job, I love kids and genuinely want to help them turn their lives around.
“Why do you want to work with troubled youth?”
Well, if I'm being honest, I never had any intention of teaching at a high school, especially one for delinquents. I did it for a girl. You probably don't want to hear all about my life, but I'll tell you the basics. I've been in love with her forever, since we were little kids. We were best friends. She left while I was still at school, and I recently tracked her down -- thank you, Mark Zuckerberg -- and found out that she was an art teacher here. On an impulse, I decided to move here. It's been, what, six years?
“How long have you been teaching, what subjects have you taught, where was the last place you taught?”
I just got my PhD, actually. I taught Introduction to Physics and Introduction to Astronomy at Duke, where I attended grad school. I also was a TA for several classes when I was an undergrad at Berkeley. I got very good feedback, which encouraged me even more. One student even said they were planning on majoring in Philosophy and took Intro Physics for fun, but changed their major after one class -- my class. That was probably the best moment so far in my short-but-sweet teaching career.
“How do you project yourself to students? How do you think your co-workers will see you? How do you see you?”
Well, as I said before, my goal in teaching is to make my classes as fun as possible. If a student is bored, they might tune you out. And I want to make sure that students get the education they need. It's also more fun to teach students who are having fun. I like to tell jokes in my classes, involve pop culture, and do plenty of hands-on activities. Just little things to keep people awake. I've sat through enough boring classes to know what's interesting and what's not.
As a co-worker, I try to be friends with everyone. It's not a ass-kissing thing either, it's just that I like... well, to be liked. I'm that guy, I guess. And for how I see myself? Well, I guess I think of myself as the "nice guy." Or, at least, that's what I try to be. I like to help people, though. It's got to be a rescuer thing. The only girl I've ever been in love with, I helped after the death of her mother. But students, too. I guess I will fit in at a school for delinquents. I honestly want to help them.
“Worse decision you’ve made during your teaching career.”
Oh, that's not exactly a story I should be putting on my application. I mean, nothing fatal or career-ending happened, but the student did miss the first few weeks of classes. Not to mention, the classroom had to be reupholstered and recarpeted. I was a graduate student at Duke, and I was teaching a class on Physics -- in particular, applied physics. I decided that, for the first lesson, we could learn about the chemical part of things with a little rocket fuel I managed to get my hands on. I thought it would be a very fun introduction to the class for the students, but I hadn't taken into account that not all students are respectful and careful. I had the students split up into groups and try to recreate the effect with a miniature rocket, but one student hadn't properly adjusted the formula, and the miniature rocket exploded. She was okay, though, just a few chemical burns on her face and neck that healed right up. And that classroom needed a new carpet anyway.
“Tell me a little about your life before B.A.D.”
I grew up in New York City. Not the best neighborhood, but not the worst. I was smart, but I wasn't a nerd. I was tough enough not to get picked on too much, but I didn't get into too many fights. I didn't want that on my record, because I always intended to go to college. It was mainly self defense. I spent a lot of the time in the gym, and enough time studying that I got good grades. Good enough that I got into Berkeley early admission. But my youth wasn't all smiles and perfection. I used to fall asleep to the sounds of my father beating my mother. They had sort of the picture of a stable marriage, to everyone around them, and we did okay financially. We seemed perfect to everyone, but it got pretty F*cking bad sometimes.
He went after me a couple of times, but I was usually strong enough to fight him off without actually hitting him back. I knew hitting him back would just be a bad idea, since my mother was adamant about staying with him. I tried not to spend too much time at home. When I was eighteen, my best friend -- I was already a little in love with her by then -- well, her mother ended her own life. I was close to leaving for college, but I tried to help her however I could.
Now, I don't want you to get the impression from reading this that I've been in love with one girl forever and haven't ever had girlfriends. I have, I was just never really... in love with them. At Duke, I had a particularly bad relationship with a clinical psychologist. She was almost as crazy as the people she psychoanalyzed. She used to stalk me and break into my apartment. Even after I gave her a key. But that was a year and a half ago, and I haven't been in a relationship since.
Full name: Luke Jacob Reed
D.O.B. and Age: 7/14, 26
Years Teaching: Zero, outside of college and grad school
Years at Blackwood: Brand new.
Subject: Astronomy
Health Issues: Non-fatal allergy to peanuts, smoker
Other: This is for Lexington's wanted ad.
D.O.B. and Age: 7/14, 26
Years Teaching: Zero, outside of college and grad school
Years at Blackwood: Brand new.
Subject: Astronomy
Health Issues: Non-fatal allergy to peanuts, smoker
Other: This is for Lexington's wanted ad.
Your name: What you want to be called.
How you found us: PBS.
Code word in the Rules: Admin Edit
Play by: Orlando Bloom
